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    Thirst
    Thirst
    Thirst
    Audiobook2 hours

    Thirst

    Written by Andrei Gelasimov

    Narrated by Luke Daniels

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Masterfully translated from the original Russian by award-winning translator Marian Schwartz, Thirst tells the story of 20-year-old Chechen War veteran Kostya. Maimed beyond recognition by a tank explosion, he spends weeks on end locked inside his apartment, his sole companions the vodka bottles spilling from the refrigerator. But soon Kostya’s comfortable if dysfunctional cocoon is torn open when he receives a visit from his army buddies who are mobilized to locate a missing comrade. Through this search for his missing friend, Kostya is able to find himself.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    TranslatorMarian Schwartz
    Release dateFeb 15, 2012
    ISBN9781455876518
    Thirst
    Author

    Andrei Gelasimov

    Born in Irkutsk in 1965, Andrei Gelasimov studied foreign languages at Yakutsk State University and directing at Moscow Theater Institute. He became an overnight literary sensation in Russia in 2001 when his story A Tender Age, which he published on the Internet, was awarded a prize for the best debut. It went on to garner the Apollon Grigorev and Belkin Prizes, and his novels have regularly enjoyed critical and popular success in Russia and throughout Europe. This is his fourth novel to be published in English, following Thirst, The Lying Year, and Gods of the Steppe, winner of Russia’s National Bestseller Prize in 2009 and praised by Bookslut as “a very rich, good book.” Gelasimov adapted Thirst for the screen, and the film, directed by Dmitriy Tyurin, won first prize in the Moscow Premiere Screenings at the Moscow International Film Festival and the Jury Prize at the Sochi Open Russian Film Festival.

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    Reviews for Thirst

    3.5/5

    29 ratings3 reviews

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    • 4/5
      An interesting story about a disfigured vetran from the Chechen war. Not much happens, which is slightly underwhelming, but there are touches of insight & an ending that is generous & warm.
    • 2/5
      This short novel is narrated by a young Russian soldier during the War in Chechnya, who suffers horrible burns to his face and body when the Armed Personnel Carrier he is riding in is blown apart by a grenade. His comrades do not rescue him immediately, assuming he is dead, and then are horrified to see him breathing. After his rescue, he returns to his home village, where his most useful activity is scaring his neighbor's children into obedience. He spends his days in a vodka-fueled haze of memory, regret and bitterness, and the novel zips back and forth between past and present in a schizophrenic fashion. The narration is simple and banal, as in this passage:Usually it takes about three days to get used to the idea that a friend has died. Not one and not two. Sometimes even three isn't enough. Each time you remember him, you tell yourself, He's dead. But it still feels like you're lying. Not in the sense that he isn't dead but in the sense that you're still not ready to say those words. You can say them, but they're empty. Unconnected to life. There's an emptiness between them and reality. You sense that gap, and you can't figure out what's there, inside it. So you repeat it as often as you can; he's dead, he's dead, he's gone. But you're lying anyway. At least until three days pass. Then it's pretty much OK.I bought Thirst because it was one of the e-books published by AmazonCrossing that was on sale for 99 cents last weekend. I'm not convinced that I received my money's worth, though.
    • 4/5
      Konstantin is unable to find room in his fridge for all his vodka! He lines the bottle up on shelves, in the sink and on the floor. There is a good reason why Konstantin drinks so much, for his has not been an easy life.He joined the Russian army to distance himself from his cold and unloving father and saw action in Afghanistan. It was during this conflict that Konstantin was cruelly injured. A grenade was thrown in to the APC he and his comrades were travelling in and, because he was the last to be rescued, his face has been horrifically burned.Now he spends his days in a small apartment and his only purpose in life, apart from drinking vodka, is to scare the little boy next door in to behaving for his fraught mother Olga. News reaches him that one of his former comrades has gone missing and he finds himself journeying to Moscow with his friends to search for him. It appears that they too have a fondness for vodka, so he is in good company.Andrei Gelasimov is a very talented writer. He skilfully switches from one time frame and character to the next with seamless ease. His depiction of Konstantin and his lonely, sad existence is just beautiful. We learn more and more about Konstantin’s life and personality including his talent for drawing. This is a short novel, but easy to read and very worthwhile. Gelasimov reveals how all the characters are searching for something…looking for a different life, but, sadly, they are not going to find it in the bottom of a vodka bottle.This book was made available to me, prior to publication, for an honest review.